Carton



Jan. 19, 1954 E. c. MULNlx 2,666,566

CARTON Filed 'OCT'. 14, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet l E. C. MULNIX `Ilan. 19, 1954 CARTON Filed oct. 14, 1948 `4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan. 19, 1954 y E, C, MU| N|X 2,666,566

CARTON Filed Oct. 14. 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 E. c. MULNlx Jan. 19, 1954 CARTON 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed 0G15. 14, 1948 Patented Jan. 19, 1954y UNITED STATE.

I OFFICE This invention relates to an improvement in cartons, and more particularly to an improvement in bottle-carrying cartons,r although cartons embodying the invention may be employed for carrying goods other than bottled goods.

The principal objects of the invention are to provide a carton of very rigid and durable construction, but which may be quickly and .easily manually set -up or formed from .a collapsed blank; to provide such a carton having a very strong bottom construction so as to be especially adapted to the carrying of heavy goods such as bottled goods; to provide a carton of the character indicated having a bottom construction Which will withstand the effects of moisture to which the bottom may be subjected incident to the packaging of cold bottled goods in the carton and the condensation of moisture on the cold walls of the bottles; to provide a carton which will firmly hold bottles therein in tightly packed condition so .as` to prevent rattling of the bottles within the carton; to provide an efficient carton of the' characterindicated which will completely enclose the goods, and which Will be easy to close, and which will ef'ectively remain closed without employment of adhesives or various forms of locking tabs; vand to provide a carton of the character indicated with a carrying handle arrangement which may be quickly and easily applied as a step in the process of packaging goodsl in the carton and closing the same, and which handle may be adjusted to an out-of-the way position when desired, especially for packaging the filled cartons in other containers.

In general, it is the object of the invention to provide an improved carton of the character indicated, and other objects and advantages of the invention will vbe understood by reference to the following specification and accompanying drawings (4 sheets) in which there is illustrated a carton embodying a selected form of the invention. Y

In the drawings: f

' UFig,A 1 is a perspective illustrating =a completed and closed package comprising'the improved carton, y

Fig. 2 is a plan view'of a blank from which the yimproved carton isfformed Figs. 3 and 4 are perspective illustrations of the bottom construction ofthe carton, these views showing successive-stepsin the closing of the bottom,

Fig. 5 shows the bottom of the carton in its closed condition, y

lFigs. 6 and '7 are sections respectively on planes represented'by the lines 5-6 and l-"lI Figs. 9 and 10 are perspective illustrations showing successive steps involved in the closing ofthe carton and thel application of a carrying handle thereto.

The improved carton herein illustrated is ofv generally rectangular Yform embodying :opposite end wall panels I and 2, and side wall panels 3 and 4. y and lower sections respectively designated Ia and Ib, 2a and 2b, etc., the sections being separated from each other by substantially straight hori` zontally extending fold lines 5 and 5 in the side walls 3 and 4, and horizontally extending curved fold lines l and 8, respectively, in the end walls I and 2. The side Wall panel 3 is provided with a glue iiap extension 9 which is adhesively at? tached to the free margin ofthe end wall panel 2 Yto form the blank into a tube which may be collapsed to at formas is well known inthe art of box making.

The end Walls I and 2 are equipped with bottom-forming flaps I0 and II, respectively, which are of length and breadth substantially corresponding to the length and breadth of the setup carton so'that each ap extends over the en-' tire bottom area of the carton. Y l

The side walls 3 and are provided with bot-- tom-forming iiaps I 2 and I3,'respectively, these aps being so formed that they are adapted to cooperatively form another bottom wall ply.

By lreference to Figs, 3, 4, and 5, it will be seen that the flaps I0, II, I2, and I3 are folded into bottom-forming position by first folding the flaps lil and' Il over the end 'area of the tubular carton body, the preglued blank being, of course, first squared up to the desired tubular form. Then, the iiaps I2 and I3 are folded inwardly into outwardly overlapping relation to the naps l0 and II'. l i

The flaps I2 and I3 are of generally rectangular form except that they each have corner portions cut out so as to form, in effect, reduced width portions I2a and I2a, respectively, which, at their junctions with the main bodies of the respective naps I2 and I3, are of substantially one-half the horizontal dimension of the length ofthey carton walls with which said flaps are associated. This arrangement permits the flaps I2 and i3 to more or less intermesh in the dat, fully folded condition illustrated in Fig. 5 wherein said flaps I2 and I3 and their respective por,- tions vim and I 3a cooperate to form a third bottom Wall over the entire area of the carton, portions of the said third bottom wan being of double thickness, i. e., where the flap portion I 2a overlaps the flap bodyk I 3 and where the nap portion I3a overlaps the flap body I2.

The bottom-forming naps I2 and I3 are locked Vin closed position by means of tongues I4 and I 5,

respectiveli/Whch are formed integrally with the saidfbottom'flaps being connected thereto These side wallpanels embody upperl by extension panels I2b and 35, respectively. The extension panels I2b and I'Sb are foldably connected to the respective nap portions I2a and I3a by means of wide fold line areas if and I 1, respectively, and the tongues I4 and i5 are foldably connected to said panels I2b and I3b, respectively, by means of suitable fold lines I8 and I9. The tongues I4 and I5 have end ears I4a for the tongue I4, and I5a for the tongue I5, such end ears being provided at both ends of the tongues.

These locking tongues are employed by bending the panels I 2b and I3b over the lower marginal portions of the side walls 4 and 3, respectively, and tucking the tongues I4 and I5 inwardly through openings 2l] and 2I provided in the walls 4 and 3 by the displacement of ears 3c and 4c, respectively. The ears 3c and 4c are provided for by suitable slits 22 and fold lines 23 which permit the ears 3c and 4c to be displaced from the respective walls by being bent inwardly therefrom. The tongues I4 and I5 are longer than the openings 2D and 2I by an amount approximately'corresponding to the total length of the tongue end ears I4a and I5a, respectively, so that n when the tongues are forced inwardly through the respective openings 20 and 2l, the end ears on lsaid tongues will necessarily be bent back to permit the tongues to pass through the openings. The normal resiliency and flexibility of paperboard, such as employed in the making of cartons of this type, readily permits the ears to be so bent back, and will cause the ears to more or less resume their normal co-planar relation to the bodies of the tongues from which they extend.

While these locking tongues need not be folded to flat, face-to-face position on the inner faces of the side walls of the carton, they may be so proportioned that when folded to face-to-face condition as best shown in Fig. 7, the free ends of the tongues may be caused to extend between the opposite edges of one or both of the inner bottom flaps I and I I and the adjacent side wall 3 or 4. This locking of the locking tonguesin face-to-face position may very easily be eiected in the manual operation of setting up the carton since the openings and 2I are suiiciently large to permit an operators ngers to pass into the carton to press the respective tongues into the desired locked position. However, it is by no means necessary that care be exercised to make sure that the tongues are locked in this manner since the end ears of the respective locking tongues will effectively serve to prevent unlocking of the flaps whether or not they are folded in any degree toward the flat face-to-face position illustrated in Fig. '7. When bottled or other goods are packaged in the carton, the goods will usually force these locking tongues into face-to-face position as shown in Fig. 7 wherein the outline of bottled goods is indicated in dotted lines, and from which itl can be seen that said goods are capable of automatically completing the folding of said locking tongues to the` faceto-face condition illustrated in Fig. 7.

.In setting up the carton and forming the bottom, the manual operations are such that the operator usually completes the closing of the bottom holding the carton within his thumbs on the bottom andwith two or three of his fingers of each hand passing through the respective openings 20 and 2I and pressing the locking tabs I4 and I5 toward their fully locked position as illustratedin Fig. '7. It is very convenient with such a grip on the carton to' turn it' upright and set it down on a worktable or the like ready for lling. The carton then is of substantially rectangular form having its bottom closed and its top open.

Rectangular flaps 24 and 25 extend from the respective end walls I and 2, and rectangular top closing flaps 26 and 2'! extend upwardly from the respective side walls 3 and 4. These naps 24, 25, 26 and 2l are connected to the upper edges of the respective walls through the agency of suitable fold lines as indicated at 2S.

All of the flaps 24 to 2'I may remain in their normal or initial coplanar relation to the respective walls from which they extend. At some time before the carton is filled, the naps 24 and 25 are preferably turned down into face-to-face engagement with the inside faces of the respective end walls I and 2 as best shown in Fig. 6. This may be done after the carton bottom has been formed, and as a manual operation in the process of setting up and filling the carton. However, it is generally preferred that these flaps 24 and 25 be folded down and adhesively secured in their respective folded positions, by the box maker during the production of the collapsed tubular box blank. It is a relatively simple operation on conventional box-making machinery to fold these flaps to the desired position and to adhesively secure them in such position.

The naps 24 and 25 having been turned in, the goods to be packaged are introduced. The goods force the locking tongues I4 and I5 downwardiy into face-to-face relation to the inside of the carton side walls and hold the tongues in such position whereby the bottom structure is effectively locked against unfolding or opening. Hence it will be seen that the locking ears Ifla and ld are not essential; but they are desirable in that they serve to hold the bottom structure against unfolding pending introduction of the goods into the carton. The goods in the carton also serve to force the ears 3c and 4c toward their normal positions in the planes of the walls 3 and l respectively (as shown in Fig. 7) so as to close the openings through which the locking tongues were moved into the carton.

After the carton has been filled, a carrying handle is applied. A wire handle of fairly rigid, but, nevertheless, at least slightly resilient Wire is preferred. Such a handle is formed by bending the selected wire to the inverted U-shaped condition shown in Fig. 6, the lower free ends of the side legs of the handle being provided with inwardly and upwardly turned hook formations 30 and 3|. Such handle is assembled with the package by rst engaging one of its hooke-d ends 30 and 3I with the upper end of the end wall I or 2, preferably engaging the hook with about the middle of the wall near its upper end, and then applying such lateral force on the hook as to cause the engaged end-wall to buckle inwardly while at the same time effecting similar buckling of the opposite end wall by hand to permit the other hook end of the handle to be moved downwardly over the central portion of such manually buckled wall. The handle may then be moved downwardly along the middle of the buckled wall portions into predetermined anchored positions.

For handle anchoring purposes, ears or tongues 32 and 33 are provided in the end walls I and 2 by means of U-shaped slits and fold line-s connccting the free ends of the side legs of the slits. Similar ears or tongues 34 and 35 are formed respectively in the side wall top flaps 2li and 25. When the top flaps 24 and 25 are folded down on 5 the inside of the vrespective walls I and 2, the ears 34`and 35 register with the ears 32 andr33, the hinge lines for the vregistering ears being then so located relative to each other that the rregistering pairs of ears 'may be folded inwardly and upwardly so as to form four-ply fold-formed edges 36 and 3l, respectively, against which` the hooks 30 and 3I of the handle bear.

The handle 29 is moved downwardly with its hooks 3Gv and 3l pressing against the'walls I and 2 untilsaid hooks engage said ears 32 and 33. The handle is made of wire (or other material) having suicientstiffness to cause the registering ear elements to `be automatically displaced inwardly and upwardly incident to the pressure exerted by the end portions of the hooks 3d and 3l against said ears, and the resilient outward force exerted by the inwardly buckled portions of the upper portions ofthe walls I and 2, as illustrated; Then, by slight upward movement of the handles, the hooks will eiect upward folding of the ears and seating of the hooks on said fold-formed edges 36 and 31. Hence, the operation of applying the handle 29 consists mainly in the simple application of the hooked ends of the legs of the handle over the upper end of the carton, and downward movement of the handle until the hooked ends rest on the registering ears, iollowed by slight retractive or upward movement of the handle.

Frictional engagement between the inwardly buckled walls I and 2 and the legs of the handle will normally maintain the handle in its operative position in which'it extends above the top plane of the carton. However, the legs of the handle may have their lowerend portions bent outwardly so as to diverge downwardly as best illustrated in Fig. 6. These diverging leg portions rest on the underlying portions of the carton walls which more or less conform to the 1pcsitions of said handle portions. Downward movement of the handle is therefore resisted by said seating of the diverging leg portionsv on theA correspondingly angled carton'wall portions.

To complete the closing'of the carton, the top wall naps 2K5 and 2'! are next folded inwardly, one over the other. Each of these iiaps 2d and 21 is provided with suitable slit lines 38 and 39, respectively, of shallow U-shaped form and fold lines 40 and 4I, respectively, connecting the free ends of the side legs of the slits 38' and 39. TheseY slits and fold lines form ears 42 and 43, respectively, whichv may be displaced to provide an opening for lpermitting passage of the handle through the respective iiaps, it being somewhat preferable that the naps be simply folded inwardly and downwardly with the respective ears being displaced upwardly by the handle. The main lengths of the slits 38 and 39 are so posi` tioned that when the iiaps 26 and 21 are in their horizontal closed positions, the handle will project through said slits without signiiicant displacement of the ears. Small holes such as indicated at 44 may be provided in the slits to accommodate the side legs of the handle to thereby eiectively avoid any necessary -displacement of the material of the ears or aps.

When the top closure naps are in closed position, they are more or less' automatically locked in that position since they cannot swing upwardly to open position without displacing the ears 42 and 43. The paperboard material usually employed in the production of cartons of this type is usually stiff enough to prevent such ear displacement merely byreason of the tendency of the naps to swing upwardly to open position.` Hence, the carton remains in effectively closed position while at the same time being capable of being easily opened without destruction or ltear-- ing by the application of manual lifting force to the respective top flaps.

When a lled carton such as described is to be packaged in a box or shipping case, the handle 29 may be pushed downwardly until its horizontal upper leg rests on the closed upper ap of the package, to thereby eliminate interference by the handle with the packaging of the lled cartons one on top of another.

Incident to the collapsing of the upper portions of the end walls l and 2, as described, the upper portions 3a and da of the side walls are pulled angularly inwardly as illustrated in Fig. '7. This tends to pull all of the side walls into rm engagement with the adjacent wall portions of bottles packaged in the carton to thereby insure holding of the bottles in tightly packed condition which prevents them from rattling when the package is carried through the agency of its handle.

Also incident to the buckling of the flaps 2li and 25 inwardly in connection with the application of the .handle to the carton, the lower portions of said flaps diverge inwardly somewhat from the planes of the buckled upper wall portions Ia and .2a so as to project inwardly as shown at d in 6. VThese inwardly projecting buckled flap portions enter between the adjacent pair of bottles, as will be evident from an inspection of Fig. e, and may bear against the bottles to thereby aid in holding them ilrmly against one another to avoid rattling noises from within the carton.

The fold lines 5, 6, 7, rand `8 in the walls of the carton serve to more or less control the shaping of the carton incident to the collapsing or inward buckling of the end walls as already den scribed. To further control the shaping of the carton, the upper portions I a and 2a of said end walls are provided with vertically extending central fold lines .15 and with diverging fold lines 136 and 4l which serve in cooperation with contiguous fold Alines to denne panel-like sections of predetermined size and shape thereby to avoid irregularities which may occur if haphazard folding were permitted to occur. Inasmuch as the upper end wall naps 2t and 25 are buckled in conformity with the buckling of the upper wall portions la. and 2a, these naps 24 and 25 are also provided with vertical center' fold lines 50 which, in the blank shown in Fig. 2, are, in effect, continuations of the fold lines d5.

The described carton construction results in a very rigid paper carton, it being observed that the three-ply bottom construction, when locked in closed position, provides a very rigid structure which effectively holds the carton body in its rectangular position. This three-ply bottom thickness provides an adequate amount of material to take up any moisture whichmay occur within the carton incident to condensation on a cold bottled product, and also to withstand signiiicant impairment incident tc the standing of the iilled carton on a wet bottom or shelf of a refrigerator or refrigerating cabinet. Although the construction is very rigid and durable, it does not involve excessive production costs since there is but little waste ci material in the cutting of the blank, and no slow or difficult forming operations or other operations requiring special machinery. The mechanical operations involved: informing. the glued-up`r tubular.. blank.

may readily beperformed onrnore or. lessstand.- ard box-making equipment. Similarly, no. special equipment but only ordinary, box-cutting die equipment is'required for cutting outand creasing the blanks.

SinceV the carton may readily be reopened without destroying any part of the carton, and

the goods removed'therefrom without destroying' the goods, and it provides a large amount. of.

dat Wall area whichmay be employed for ornamentation or advertising purposes, or thelike, if

desired.

Various changesv may be made in the structure while retaining the principles. off the invention.

I claim:

1. Ak carton structure of the classY describedv comprising opposed pairs of walls foldably interconnectedso as to form a tubular carton body which is ioldable toflat, collapsed condition by folding on the lines of connection between said Walls, a bottom flap-extending from the bottom edge of one of the wallsof one of said pairs and having at least one side edge disposed closelyadjacent to the bottom edge of a wall of the other of said pairs of walls, an outer bottom flap extending from the bottom edge. of the side wall opposite to the last-mentioned. side wall and oldable into bottom-forming positionunder said inst-mentioned` flap, said outer bottom nap hav.-

ing an extension foldable upwardly. over the out-y side o the iirst mentioned wall of said other pair or walls anda tongue foldably connected tosaid extension, said rst mentionedwall of said other pair oi walls being provided with. an opening through which said tongue is movable into the interior of the carton body, said tongue being.

foldable downwardly within the cartonY and. being of such vertical dimensionthat its-lower end portion is insertable between said rst-mentioned nap edge and the. adjacent side wall to thereby4 lock said tongue in said downwardly.

folded position whereby said outer bottom ap is locked in end wall position.

2. A carton structure according` toclaim 1 in which the looking tongue isv provided withears extending from its opposite sides,.said. ears being foldable to laterally extending positionsrelative to said tongue by engagement,withrportions of theside wall adjacent thesides ofI said opening as an incident to the movement of the tongue through said opening, the normal resiliency of the carton material serving to cause said ears to bey self-restoring to their normal projecting positions so as to extend beyond the sides of said opening on the inside of the carton to thereby lock said tongue against withdrawal from within the carton and to thereby additionally lock the outer bottom. flap in bottom-forming position.

3. A carton of the class describedcoxnprising opposed pairs of` Walls. foldably interconnected alongtheir side edges so as to `form a tubular bodyA which is f oldablek on the connections between saidwalls to flatc,ollapsed condition, thewalls of one off` said pairs being. each provided, with. an.

toY

opening disposed approximately centrally. of. the.

widthof thewall'andiadjacent to but'spacedup- Wardly from the. bottom. edge off the wall, said openings terminating shortof, the side edges ofi the respectiveY wal1`s,. a. pair of. bottom-forming flapsV foldably, connected respectively tothe bot= of thecarton bottom, veach ofisaidlapsbeing pro,-

vided with'an extensionfldable intooverlying.

position on theoutside ofi the wallopposite to the wall. from which the flap extends, andwith a tonguefoldably connected to saidlextension andi insertable through, said. opening. into the interior ofthe carton, saidtongues having ears extending sidewise therefrom beyond the, ends of the openings through vvhich `saidj tongues are inserted;

into the. carton to thereby lock. said.` tongues againstoutward displacement through said .openings, said ears being foldabletoofset positions tolpermit.passagethereof withsaid tongues inwardly, through. said, openings, the normal.' re-` siliency of thecartonmaterial servingy to cause.

said ears to be self-restoring tosaid locking position, said. extensions. respectively extending4 diagonally in opposite directionsfrom portions of.'

the respective bottom-formingk flaps so. as to, Y lo.- cate saidtongues substantially centrally of the width of the walls for insertion through said..

openings-as aforesaid.

4. .A carton of the. class. described, comprising a. tubular body,- having opposed pairs.. of' walls, the walls of. one of said-.pairs being eachprovided with. an opening. disposed approximately centrallyvv of thev width of the wall. and.. adjacent to but spaced upwardly from. the bottom edge.

of` the Wall.. said. openings terminating short. of the slde edges. of. themespective wallsa. pair. of

bottom-forming flaps. foldably. connected respectively tothe bottomv edgesof said last-mentionedA pair of wal1s,said. flaps having portions respectively extending in opposite directionscomplete- 1y across. portions. of, the. carton. bottom,` each oi..

said napsbeing providedwith an extensionfoldable 1nto.overlyingposition on the. outside of the wall opposite. to-y the. Wall. from which` thenap. extends, and witha tongue, foldably connectedto.

saidextension.andinsertable through said openinginto the interior of. the carton, said. extensionsrespectively extendingl diagonaly in opposite directions from. portions. of. the respective bottom.-

formngapsso.- as to.locate said tongues sub-- stantially centrally. of. the. width. ofthe Walls for insertionthrough. said` openings as aforesaid.

ERSEL. C. MULNIX.

References Cited inthe' le of this patentA UNITED STATES. PATENTS" Number'r GreatA Britain June 24,I 192e 

